A COMPELLING MEA CULPA

These three videos document an attempt by David Letterman to right a wrong.

In 1993, comedian Bill Hicks performed a stand-up routine that Letterman had edited out of The Late Show because he presumably deemed the material too edgy. Even though the material had been approved by censors, his routine became the first to be cut in its entirety, prompting Hicks to write a 39-page letter of outrage to the New Yorker.

Last Friday, over fifteen years later, Dave invited Hicks' mother to be a guest on the show to apologize and finally air the lost segment.

It's fascinating to finally see what was deemed "too edgy" in 1993 and ponder whether it's any less edgy by today's networks' late night standards. Even though the references are dated, the material reminds me that Bill Hicks is one of the few comedians who actually deserves the label "ahead of his time."

Of course, his short set goes nowhere near the dark and profoundly philosophical areas of his hour-long routines that have been released on CD (long after he died).

In any event, I'm glad it aired.

Bill Hicks is undeniably one of my favorite stand-up comedians. Like many others, I discovered him after he already passed away. I'll never look at Gideon bibles, the "This is your brain on drugs" commercials, and dinosaurs the same way.

For me, it's especially suckful that Bill died in 1994, right when the "Contract with America," the conservative revolution, and the rise of the religious right just started to dominate the American landscape.


Credit: Popwatch

--Junichi